Bishop Tobin on What a New Spiritual Heart Would Do

"I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities
and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you
a new heart and place a new spirit within you. (Ez 36: 25-26)

"These verses appear pretty regularly in the morning prayer of the Church so I come across them frequently. But one day, the phrase that says, 'I will give you a new heart,' caught my special attention.

"The People of Israel who first read those words - I wonder how that impacted them. Giving someone a new heart would have been unthinkable in those days. And even now, hearing about heart transplants is newsworthy since it involves a rather serious and complex surgical procedure.

"In this prophecy the Lord isn't speaking about a new physical heart, of course, but, rather, a spiritual heart. But, it got me thinking, what would a new spiritual heart mean for us? What difference would it make?"

In a recent commentary, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of the Diocese of Providence (RI), reflected on some of the reasons for us to "pray for that new heart and new spirit that God promised to give us."

To access Bishop Tobin's complete essay, please visit:

The Imitation of Christ: What Would A New Heart Do? (23 SEP 21)